Apron



p 1951' IEQR. VAN STAAGEN 2,568,421

APRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 12, 1949 INVENTOR.

Eleanor R. Van Staagen, BY

ATTOR NEY5.

p 1951 E. R. VAN STAAGEN 2,568,421

APRON I Filed May 12, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I WY INVENTOR. Eleanor R.vansfaagen ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 18, 1951 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 2,568,421Eleanor taagen, Vernon, N, Y. Q l k pplicationMa y m,19i9,SerialNo.92,f7i5 Thepresent invention relates to apparel in the general class ofaprons, more particularly apron and towel combinations.

The'novel garment of the invention, being' not onl utilitarian butornamental as well, is intended for use by housewives, domesticatedhusbands, bachelors of both sexes interested inthe culinary arts,bartending and similar pursuits, and is suitable for waiters, waitressesand others. I Experience has taught that in the course of such pursuitsone is constantly in need of a towel to dry the hands, and frequently inneed of it in a hurry to meet such emergencies, for example,

as answering the doorbell or the telephone when in the midst ofdishwashing.

The general object of the invention, therefore, is to provide an articleof apparel which serves to provide, in addition to an. apron, a towelwhich is readily availableat al-l times and which is so combined withthe apron as to be capable of being an attractive adjjunctgthereto,lending an air of smartness while providing a great convenience.

Another object is to detachably secure the towel to the apron,permitting ready replacement of soiled towels with clean ones.

'A further object is to so. arrange the. attach- ;ing means that it willbe concealed, at the same time serving to form pleats inthe towel and tohold the pleats in place.

on the sash;

Fig. 4 is a detailed elevation of a section of waistband and skirtshowing the opening between them which may be provided and the relationof fastening elements thereto;

Fig. 5 is a plan showing how the main parts of one style of the apronmay be cut from piece goods;

Fig. 6 shows the top end of a towel with the arrangement of fasteningelements thereon;

Fig. '7 is a similar view showing a different arrangement of fasteningelements;

jjcutflinto strips ,1 for use as the rufiie l3. "semicircular skirt isformed by cutting on the Fig. 8- is a detailed plan: similar to Fig.4show- 'ing the towel of Fig. 6fastened in place,

" Fig.- 9 is a similar view showing the arrangement of fasteningelements with the towel of Fig. 7 in place; and 7 r v Fig-'10 a detailedview showing an arrangement offastening elements on the top portion ofthe skirt with the sash partially secured thereto and turned back todisclose the fasteners.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the apron comprises a skirt l5 and awaistband or sash It and may have a ruffle- [8. It is worn by tying abow l9 in the sash. Hanging from behind the sash, in

"the illustrated embodiment, is thepleated towel 20 which overlies thefront of the skirt, preferably somewhat to one side of center.

The combination of apron and towel maybe rendered very attractive byusing goods of contrasting colors, by using flowered or stripedtowelin'g against the background of a plain colored apron and viceversa. The towel hangs in grace waste and so as to save labor by fullutilization of the selvage. A piece a yard wideand two yards long isfolded over on itself lengthwise about 27 inches from one end along theline J, the remaining 18 inches beyond the doubled portion being Thelines a. and b. The remaining piece is modified by cutting ofi the longpointed ends along the line c and forms the sash l6. As shown in Fig. 3,the edge a of the skirt I5 is straightened out enough to conform to theedge 0 of sash I 6 and is attached thereto along the middle. The longedges of the goods shown in Fig. 5 are selvage, designated 5 and thusthe top edge of the sash and the rear edges of the skirt need not behemmed. The wide pointed ends of the sash tie into an attractivebutterfly bow as shown in Fig. 2.

Referring now to Figs. 6, 8 and 10, one of the preferred means forremovably securing a towel 20 to the apron is by a plurality ofseparable fasteners of the type known as snap fasteners or grippers,arranged in a certain manner with reference to the parts of the apronand the towel as will now be described. On a towel about 18 inches widefastener halves or elements 2| are arranged as shown in Fig. 6 about 4%inches apart with the end elements adjacent the edges of the towel. Aconvenient method of applying them is to sew to the towel a tape 22carrying the elements at the proper intervals. The complementaryfastener halves or elements 24, which coact with elements 2|, aresecured to the top of skirt i5 and may be mounted on a tape 25 which isstitched to the skirt. Elements 24 are spaced more closely than are theelements 2| on the towel, say about 1 inch apart. The waistband i6 issewed to the top of skirt l5 so as to overlie fastener elements 24. Inthe embodiment being described, the waistband'is sewed to the top ofskirt I5 on either side of the tape 25 but is lift free in the portionoverlying the tape so that there is an opening or slot between waistbandand skirt through which the end of the towel may extend. In Fig. 10skirt andwaistband are shown as sewed together beyond one end of tape at2B and it will'be understood that they will be similarly sewed togetherbeyond the other end of the tape. As shown in Fig. 8, after the fastenerelements 2| and 24 have been joined, the towel is arranged in pleatsbetween skirt and waistband. When the garment is worn the tightening ofthe waistband l6 flattens the pleats, keeping them in place, and thefasteners are entirely concealed.

In Figs. 7 and 9 a modified arrangement of fasteners is illustrated inwhich four elements are placed on one side of towel 29a and one elementZla on the other side, spaced as shown. Four complementary elements areplaced on skirt 15a and one on waistband 16a in the positions shown andtowel 20a. is attached to both the skirt and waistband of the apron asshown in Fig. 9.

It will be seen in Figs. 6 and '7 that the fastener elements on thetowel are spaced from its top end so as to assure that an inch or two oftowel extends above the bottom edge of and behind the waistband so as toprevent the looped ends of the pleats from sagging out from under it,thus assuring the holding of the pleats in place and the preservation ofa neat appearance as in Fig. 1, where the top end of the towel isshownin dotted lines. I I

In the constructions just described it is to be understood that thelocation of the fastening elements, described as on the skirt andunderlying the waistband, can be reversed by placing them on thewaistband facing toward and overlying the top of the skirt, the towelbeing turned around. This reversed arrangement is more specificallyillustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, fasteners elements 28, spaced as shown inFig. 10, being 4 applied to the underside of waistband l6 adjacent itslower edge, where an opening 29 is left between it and skirt l5 whenthey are sewed together.

Variations of these specific structures contemplated by the inventioninclude the sewing of the waistband to the top of the skirt throughoutthe length of the latter, the waistband overlying the skirt top by agreater distance so that a pocket is formed over the fasteners, insteadof an opening, of a depth adequate to receive the end of the towel; theuse of separable fasteners of types other than those shown; anddifferent arrangements of fasteners.

Since still further modifications will readily occur to those skilled inthe art upon disclosure of the embodiments specifically described hereinit is to be understood that they are to be construed as merelyillustrative of the invention, the scope of which is defined in theappended claim.

What is claimed is:

An apron comprising a skirt, a Waistband permanently secured to saidskirt along their ad.- joining portions except for a short distanceintermediate the ends of the top of the skirt thereby providing anopening between the skirt and waistband accessible from the front of theapron, a plurality of separable fastening elements affixed to the apronat closely spaced intervals between the ends of said opening, anaccessory such as a towel having fastening elements near one of it endscorresponding in number to but being more widely spaced than theelements on said apron whereby joining of the two sets of elements willcause the accessory to be folded into pleats, the fastening of thewaistband about the body of the wearer acting to bind and flatten thethus pleated end of the accessory extending into said opening.

ELEANOR R. VAN STAAGEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

